Pricelesss
by jehanna
Summary: Even if she didn't remember the image of Orochi pinned so exquisitely in the morning, she would always be there for reference, the most priceless painting of them all.


"...Orochi."

"Mm?"

"I have to paint."

"...what."

Betraying her prior expression of satisfied bliss, Orochi deadpans. Kagero sat straddling the diviner's torso, the heat of skin hot across her bare thighs. Though she was practically on all fours, her hands on each side of the other and holding her up as Orochi lay under her; Figure framed by the silk sheets and her hands were still placed on the ninja's hips, well-kept nails prodding into the skin she found there. It must've taken her by surprise, as they were in throws of passion and Kagero's lips had only just reached her collarbone when she stops.

"I...I'm sorry, but inspiration has come."

"And you know what hasn't come? Me, you're staying here."

Kagero's cheeks flush at the crass choice of words, and she averts her gaze from the disappointed stare of her partner. "But now that the idea has come, I won't be able to stop thinking of it."

"Hm...I'm sure I can fix that."

"But I don't want to forget the idea."

"Then make a note and come back quickly, I'll get cold." Orochi whines, arms trailing up to hug around Kagero's waist. "...Or, I can take your fortune in the morning to remember what you wished to paint."

Kagero's eyes widen a little. "That's fine."

"Don't tell me you're embarrassed." Orochi's features resume their typical look, that of a teasing sort. "I'd think it'd be hard to be when you're mounting me like a rabbit in heat."

Red as a ruby, Kagero doesn't respond.

"But I know how important your painting is to you, more so than me…" Taking delight in the panicked look she receives, Orochi breaks into giggles. "I'm kidding."

With a sigh of relief, Kagero pulls herself off of her with less grace than a retainer, nonetheless a ninja, should ever have. She tries not to pay attention to the feeling of her leg sliding against Orochi's, and the small inhale she makes in response. She wants to apologize and go back to their act, but can't give up the concept in her mind. And it was vital she did it now. She pulls her robe from their thrown pile of clothes, paying her armor and underclothes no mind and lazily ties the sash around her waist, keeping it up so poorly she wonders if she should've bothered. But there was one objective on her mind, and she steps carefully around the clutter of her tent, to an easel and charcoals. Kagero returns to see Orochi had made herself comfy in her absence, paying her bare body no mind. Kagero truly can't resist now.

"Now I have to sit here and watch you pay your attention elsewhere, while you're in such a state? You're cruel, Kagero."

Kagero stops momentarily to observe her current position. Her hair's free of its ponytail and hangs messily over her shoulders, with nothing on but her robe breaking open at the front and a small easel sits between her crossed legs. Her fingertips are already dyed black she's holding on so tightly. Orochi must think similarly to how she does, gazing at her like that, so she should understand.

"But I suppose I can't complain. That dedicated look of yours is so cute, after all."

"I'd hope so." Perhaps, since her reason is so similar, Orochi can forgive her. But Kagero simply couldn't give up the opportunity to draw her lover as she was, laying bare with silk in jewel tones and candlelight illuminating her form. Orochi rests her head in her arms, laying on her stomach with lavender locks gliding past her face. Her lower half turns and her slender legs hook together at the ankles. She looks so calm and elegant, not unlike a lounging cat, Kagero thinks.

She absolutely _must_ paint her.

What she envisioned for the work was, perhaps, far out of her field- her work was notoriously dark, as most knew -and she wonders if she can capture such fragile and specific beauty accurately. "Orochi...Don't move."

"Hmm?" Orochi raises her head to look at her, and while she hardly moves, Kagero tenses as the possibility of ruining the scene rushes by. "...Are you painting _me_?"

"Yes..." The painting stands as only a few faint strokes, the curve of her spine and the length of her legs. "Don't worry, I won't show anyone." Kagero smiles faintly, her gaze returning to her canvas and she draws the curve of Orochi's stomach. "This is for me alone."

"I suppose I can forgive you for leaving me, then." Orochi yawns and resists the urge to stretch out more among the bedding. _At least it's warm,_ she thinks. "But don't spend _all_ night on it, okay? I'll get lonely."

Suppressing a small chuckle, Kagero nods without turning her gaze. "I'm not _that_ cruel."

Kagero doesn't think she's focused this much on a painting until now. It was a strange sense of zen she entered when she had a brush in her hand, but never this strong. Her eyes trace every stretch and plane of Orochi's skin, little things like beauty marks or dimples stick out the most. Without needing to look at the canvas, her hand traces everything with feather light strokes, from the soft features of her face to her bony hips. How can she unintentionally look so elegant? After their coupling no less? Kagero wished to know, and were she more worried about aesthetics, she might've been jealous.

There's only a mild shimmer of regret in her mind, because she could be running her hands over that tanned skin and pressing her lips to her thigh. But it was only impulse, as she was left unsatisfied herself. There would always be another time. Painting this was a one in a million chance, because recreating such a scene purposely simply wouldn't be the same.

The charcoal scrapes quietly against the material, unlike the normal dark, quick strokes of Kagero's ink. For Orochi, she could take risks. Light enough it can be painted over, and just dark enough to convey the shadow and creases of her body. The eyes would be tricky, Kagero wonders if she should draw them closed, and is about to consider asking Orochi when she realizes she's been quiet. Looking up, she sees her asleep, still in that same pose but with a small trail of drool on her arm. Kagero smiles. She'd leave that part out, perhaps.

Praying she doesn't move, she continues until the sketch is done. Her fingers itch to grab a brush and paint right away, but night's long fallen and it's catching up to her, she can feel her mind slipping. Knowing she must be as her best, so as to not ruin something as priceless as this picture. She'd lose the perfect lighting and drapery of cloth they had right now, but...Kagero had a good memory, she'd reckon. And with night growing, the air was growing cold and she longed for the body heat of her partner. Resolving to begin the base coats tomorrow, when she could think straight, she succumbs to her wants and lulls herself back to the cot.

Slipping in so as to not disturb the other, Kagero grabs hold of the sheets and pulls them over the two, wondering how Orochi could manage sleep without cover, especially nude with Autumn nearing. _Just as shameless as she was awake,_ Kagero can't help a giggle. Enjoying the warmth she was radiating, Kagero finds herself cuddling closer and on instinct, Orochi's arms snake around her. She mumbles something, making Kagero wonder just how asleep she actually is, but it could very well be dreams speaking. Sleep taking over, Kagero presses a light kiss to the diviner's forehead and lets her body rest. Even if she didn't remember the image of Orochi pinned so exquisitely in the morning, Kagero supposes she would always be there for reference, the most priceless painting of them all.


End file.
